Bow shooting from a stand?

[kjm1022]

Ok, so yesterday was the first time I got a shot from my tree stand. I had a perfect 15yard, broadside shot on a doe, sailed clear over her back, per the path of the Luminock!
As I did some reading, it appears that I should have been aiming a few inches up from the bottom of her body in order to hit vitals. I was holding dead on the vitals right behind the shoulder. My plan is to use my climber behind the house to test this theory before shooting again in the woods. I was extremely disgusted with myself to say the least, I hope I get another chance??[sad2]

 

[Ham Slam]

Keep your nose on the string and ben from your hip. A lot of people use a kisser button but don't keep there nose in contact with the string. This can throw off your shot. If you keep you ancor points and ben at the hips it should be dead on.

 

[Boghog1]

I was always told to aim low when shooting from above, but Ham Slam is correct

 

[kjm1022]

As best as I can recall, being a bit nervous, I don't think I bent at the hips, probably just angled down with my arm. I feel like everything else was the same with my anchor point? I guess its good to miss on a doe rather than a buck of a lifetime to learn a lesson? Im definitely taking some shots from a stand on Sunday before going back out!

 

[CRSIII]

Everything Ham Slam said. (but add a coupla' Ds)

 

[boxerjake77]

I hope too you get another chance. With the speed of bows, even if you ranged her wrong, you still should've hit your mark. 10 to 25 yards with one pin is not uncommon. Maybe you toured your bow, or perhaps tried to peek at the shot?

 

[Sir_Gawain]

(but add a coupla' Ds)

HaHa! +1

 

[newportri]

Only the horizontal distance matters so don't use the line of sight to determine the distance since it is always longer. Newer range finders can compensate for the angle. A cheaper option would be to mark/memorize various distances (10, 15, 20, 25 yards for example) from the base of your stand/tree.
A deer can also move pretty quickly and most bows are not silent. I have seen deer (on slow motion video) duck right underneath a perfect shot because they heard a bow/arrow or something else.

 

[kjm1022]

I hope too you get another chance. With the speed of bows, even if you ranged her wrong, you still should've hit your mark. 10 to 25 yards with one pin is not uncommon. Maybe you toured your bow, or perhaps tried to peek at the shot?

I've spent a considerable amount of time shooting this summer, as well as shooting a deer last fall with this bow from a ground blind at 10 yards. I think for one, the deer must have jumped the string in order to miss as high as I did. I think my form could have played a small role in the miss as well. My 1st pin is set for 25yards and ive shot it as close as 15 yards at a 3-d target and it's dead on. I'll know when I take some shots on Sunday from my climber at my bag target exactly what happened. I'll report my findings.

 

[jar]

Some clubs (including Westford) have towers on the archery range so members can practice tree stand shots. If you have access to one, that might be easier than practicing in your back yard.

 

[zerodown]

A deer can also move pretty quickly and most bows are not silent. I have seen deer (on slow motion video) duck right underneath a perfect shot because they heard a bow/arrow or something else.

This. I missed 4 times last year with my bow. Every time the deer dipped as i released the arrow.

 

[newportri]

This. I missed 4 times last year with my bow. Every time the deer dipped as i released the arrow.

Kind of like this?

 

[dhuze]

Yes if you are shooting down hill or up hill you need to hold a bit lower because of the arrow arc. You also could be correct on the deer ducking the shot adding to the miss. And like newportri said the true distance is not line of sight it's the vertical distance. When you get into your treestand you should pick targets level with your line of sight and range them to use as reference for when deer show up so you don't have to move too much before you shoot.

 

[dhuze]

.............................
A deer can also move pretty quickly and most bows are not silent. I have seen deer (on slow motion video) duck right underneath a perfect shot because they heard a bow/arrow or something else.

I have a hunting video where a Bull elk almost ducked an arrow from about 10 yards. The shooter spined it and he ran up and shot him again. It's surprising how quick they can react.

 

[newportri]

Although I know the deer cannot duck quicker than gravity, it sure looks like they do it sometimes.... In the video you can also clearly see that the deer is alert, and that didn't help the shooter either.

 

[arlow]

Practice from hunting heights and aim low in the chest for the heart. If it ducks you get a lung hit. If it doesnt you hit the heart. Also make sure your bow is shooting as quietly as it can. My bow is very quiet and rarely do the deer jump the string. If they jump the string every time something it is making too much noise. Unfortunatley some bows are just plain noisy (mechanically inneficient, energy not transfered into the arrow gets transformed into sound via vibration).

 

[mac67]

Ok, so yesterday was the first time I got a shot from my tree stand. I had a perfect 15yard, broadside shot on a doe, sailed clear over her back, per the path of the Luminock!
As I did some reading, it appears that I should have been aiming a few inches up from the bottom of her body in order to hit vitals. I was holding dead on the vitals right behind the shoulder. My plan is to use my climber behind the house to test this theory before shooting again in the woods. I was extremely disgusted with myself to say the least, I hope I get another chance??[sad2]

Welcome to hunting w/a bow ! LOL. Been there, done that. Dont let this discourage you. It's all part of the sport. There is not one bow hunter out there that has not missed and or never recovered a hit deer. The good news is it sounds like you have a good set-up. I mean you had a clean 15 yard shot. There are a few unknowns in the orig. post. I assume you are using a Peep w/a round pin guard ? If so, it's helpful if when you are aiming to center the pin guard in the peep and then place the pin on the target as a unit. ie dont just place the, "Pin" on the target. Like others have said bend at the waist and aim slightly lower. Pick a, "Spot" on the deer to hit. (Dont just aim at a brown body.) Relax and allow good follow through. You'll have plenty of time next time to see that deer drop. How high is your stand ? @ 15 yards the angle is steeper than you think ........... And yes at 15 yards if that deer winds you or otherwise senses you are there, they will, "Jump the string" either at the shot or just after it, especially if your bow set up is loud.

 

[kjm1022]

I do have a peep sight with a round pin guard, my stand is about 17ft high. I did try to aim as specifically as i could on the deer. I think I definitely dropped my arm to line up the sight, not keeping the string to nose, and I think a little combo of the deer jumping. Next time I'll have a better idea of what not to do. Ill be getting out there again tomorrow.

 

[freedom2012]

I do have a peep sight with a round pin guard, my stand is about 17ft high. I did try to aim as specifically as i could on the deer. I think I definitely dropped my arm to line up the sight, not keeping the string to nose, and I think a little combo of the deer jumping. Next time I'll have a better idea of what not to do. Ill be getting out there again tomorrow.

Don't feel too bad. I made the same mistakes 3 times before I finally got it right. What I found was the most important problem was my cheapie bow was too loud on the release and the deer "ducked" it as a result. I started aiming low and finally it worked perfectly on the 4th chance last year. Another problem was practicing with just a t-shirt on and not with all of my hunting gear which was causing me some issues.

Just bought a better bow and hope to reduce most issues when the brown one comes into range.

 

[Fixxah]

If any of you do not practice in same situation as will be encountered in real time you are a disgrace and I would not call youu a hunter. You are to hunting as fudds are to shooting.

Testing theories? WTF took you so long to get a clue? Maybe there should be proficiency tests for archers and permits for what you qualify for? NOT!

Show a little responsibility for Chrissake.

I haven't shot in years but I bet I could cut the vanes off of my arrows with a broadhead from a treestand or from the ground at 50yds.

Rant off.

Sent from the Hyundai of the droids, the Samsung Replenish, using Tapatalk.

 

[Big Daddy 45acp]

Google is your friend! Shooting from elevated stands - tips and techniques for hunters afield.

From the article:

The largest single problem tree-stand hunters grapple with is learning how to compensate for downward arrow flight. An arrow always hits higher than normal on downward shots because gravity has less effect on its trajectory. This means you must aim lower than normal for killing hits. Hitting much lower depends on several factors, including the speed of your arrow, the angle of your shot, and the distance to your target. As a general rule, you should aim for the horizontal distance to an animal. In other words, a deer standing ten yards from the base of your tree-stand tree requires a ten-yard shot - even if actual shooting range is 15 yards. Some bowhunters pace off level distances around a stand to predetermine shooting yardages from the base of their trees.

 

[Satcom]

Google is your friend! Shooting from elevated stands - tips and techniques for hunters afield.

From the article:

Or you could just set up your bow to hit dead center from the height that you set your stands. I only hunt from a stand during bow season. All summer long I practice from 20 ft. up so my pins are set for that height. My range finder is also the normal old kind with no trajectory compensation. I set my targets at the distance according to the same range finder that I use in the field and zero the pins to those ranges. All this leads to a dead zero hit in the field as long as I do my part. Just remember to practice with what you use in the field including the clothing that you will wear. Heavy jackets will alter your shot more than the 15-20feet of elevation especially, if you are using any of the newer flatter shooting bows.